Daily Times

The Zeenat Haroon Rashid Writing Prize for Women is pleased to announce that the Award for 2024 goes to writer and medical student Mariah Burney for her essay THE NIGHT SHIFT. Mariah will receive a cash award of Rs.100,000.

This year the prize was awarded for nonfiction and was chosen by a judging panel that included writers Sabyn Javeri and Victoria Schofield, Editor DAWN Magazines Hasan Zaidi, Deputy Director British Council Pakistan, Maarya Rehman and freelance editor Shan Vahidy.

The judges agreed that THE NIGHT SHIFT was an insightful, refreshing and humorous depiction of Pakistan’s struggling medical system portrayed through the eyes of overworked and underappreciated medical students. Although rooted in Pakistan, it had universal echoes for medical students everywhere.

The winning author Mariah Burney is a medical student based in Karachi whose first love is writing. Despite missing out on the privilege of pursuing a writing degree, she continues to nurture her dreams of becoming a published author and believes that winning the ZHR Prize is the first step towards achieving this.

In a very competitive year, the judges also Highly Commended five other shortlisted stories for their literary merit:

A TRIP TO SEAVIEW by Vaneeza Sohail. An evocative and poignant meditation on Karachi, which cleverly weaves together the personal and the external to demonstrate how a city is about the relationships we have in it.

CHOTI AURAT by Irta Usman. A compelling yet amusing narrative about a young woman navigating the expectations and limitations imposed by the complexities of having an arranged marriage.

DUPATTA by Fatima Hasan. A nuanced exploration of the dupatta as both a symbol of cultural identity and a marker of societal expectations, which is at once liberating and constraining.

SOFTENING THE STEEL IN MY SPINE by Laila Ghaffar. Well-crafted, and engaging in its experimental nature, this is a deeply reflective exploration of personal and political struggles.

WALKING DAYDREAMS by Maliha Khan. A powerful portrayal of resilience and self-discovery through the simple yet profound act of walking. It blends personal reflection with broader themes of gender, mobility, and independence.